12 Volt Fluorescent Lamp Drivers :  Homebrew conversion of standard fluorescent lamps to 12 volts. 

12 Volt System (Ametek 30):   

A Cardboard Parabolic Cooker:  During the summer of 1999 I set about making our first prototype. It was made from 0.7 mm thick AnocoilÓ aluminum, which is almost mirror quality and some steel tubing. The reflector profile opens out like a fan, as each segment pivots about the middle. Around the edge is a rubber strip that fits over the edge of the aluminum and keeps it all together. We found that the 0.7 mm aluminum is a bit thin to support its own weight so it sagged in the middle. This was overcome by clamping a conical support underneath. We also found that it was a bit wobbly and the focal point would move if there were any wind. Despite this it does work well on sunny days and looks cool. It also packs up very well so is ideal for camping. It isn't ideal for developing countries, as it isn't that stable and the aluminum was too heavy for my suitcase. As each sheet overlaps the next the reflection tends to be at an angle, so the focal point is not as accurate as the other prototypes. It is 1.2 m in diameter, which is equivalent to 1m2 of sunlight but probably only 60% efficient. / (added 09/2005)

A Fresnel Parabolic Cooker :  The solar cooker consists of 3 main parts. A parabolic reflector serves to concentrate more than one square metre of sunlight into an area about 17 cm in diameter. The control arm allows the reflector to be set facing the sun and holds the pot at the focal point regardless of the reflector tilt angle. The stand holds the other two components together and allows the cooker to be rotated to follow the sun as it moves across the sky.

A Homemade Water Pumping Wind Turbine - Peter Williams:   / (added 09/2005)

A Maine Solar Home.:  A nice local site that explains how a citizen of Maine incorporated solar energy into their home.

A Simple Solar Collector:  Details for building a simple DIY Solar Collector to heat water..

A Simple Solar Water Pasteurizer:  Drinking water can be easily pasteurized using solar energy and a few simple materials. When water or milk is pasteurized the common disease-causing organisms are killed.  / (added 09/2005)

A Tracking  Solar Concentrator For The Home Experimenter:  Teton Engineering Inc developed a 20,000 Btu (6000 watt) solar concentrator designed specifically for the backyard mechanic to build using simple construction and basic materials. The design was marketed all around the world while interest was high, but eventually that interest faded away. We continue to receive requests for the manual but it has been withdrawn from the market long ago due to the ever-increasing litigious atmosphere in the USA.

All You Need To Know About Fisher And Paykel Alternators:   / (added 09/2005)

Alternate Energy Devices:  Minato, Bowman replications, Alternate energy 

Alternative Energy Design Toolkit:  The Alternative Energy Design Toolkit is composed of three important components: a collection of models that are fundamentals of renewable energy design, a modeling environment called DOME, which is used as the toolkit's enabler, and this supporting Web site. We will introduce you to the basic concepts of these component in the upcoming pages. 

Ametek 30 Primary Generator Kit Quadraflex Al:   

Ametek Motor Data:   

An Easy To Build & Operate Induction Generator - Portable Lightplants & Generators:   

Andy Littles Homemade Wind Generator :  Uses a homebrew PM alternator based on Hugh Piggott's design. In use for pumping water electrically. Lots of photos and information about how it was built, very informative site if you want to build an axial-flux machine from scratch! 

Arbor Mounting:   

Backpack Stove:   

Barbara Kerr Solar Wall Oven Do-It-Yourself Guidelines:    / (added 09/2005)

Beckmans Electric Motor  :  A great project for interested kids, it really works

Bench Tested:  After three years of faithful service, and feeling like the Maytag repairmen of solar power, we decided to test our secondary battery back-up system to see if the two 12 Volt  DC Sea Volt deep cycle batteries could still deliver the power punch if needed.  They had been in use since August 1999 and had become our secondary battery bank when the new 6 Volt Trojan bank was initiated as the primary bank.

Bernard Solar Panel Cooker:  A simple, portable model that may open new horizons

Bicycle Powered Generator:   

Biodiesel And Your Vehicle:  Very Frequently Asked Question: "Can I use biodiesel in my car?"  Answer: If it's a diesel, yes. But there are a few things you need to know.

Bio-Diesel From Used Kitchen Grease Or Waste Vegetable Oil:  DIY alternative energy

Blocking Diode Installation:   

Bowman Pmm :   

Build A Generator From A Lawn-Edger Motor - Theepicentercom:   / (added 09/2005)

Build A Solar Hydrogen Fuel Cell System:  Complete illustrated instructions & templates to build solar panels, planar fuel cell stack, and electrolyzers hydrogen source using common tools and easy-to-obtain materials. E-book available for immediate download.

Build It Yourself Overshot Waterwheel:  New types of hydropower. Overshot waterwheel for the homeowner 

Build Your Own Fuel Cells:  Located in Wheelock, Vermont / (added 09/2005)

Build Your Own Water Wheel:  Low-impact lifestyle extraordinaire, John Hermans, devised and built a water wheel for Earth Garden’s writer and forest campaigner, Jill Redwood. Jill can now refill her water tank from the Brodribb River near her farmhouse in Victoria’s East Gippsland. Her water wheel is silent, pumps about a litre a minute, goes 24 hours a day, has only one small moving part, and works on an ancient principle. Here John describes how to build one.

Building A Maine Solar House:  A slide show of building a solar house / (added 09/2005)

Building A Staw Bale House:   

Building A Tracking Solar Oven:  This modified box cooker has been labeled high tech, because of its ability to follow the sun under its own power.  The design described is not that of a portable oven.  Materials used are durable and meant for many years of outdoors use.

Carving Your Own Wooden Wind Turbine Blades:   

Changing Field Device :   

City Farmer: Rain Barrels Nature Loo:  Get plans to build your own composting toilet

Complete Hydraulic Ram Manual:  Site promotes alternative energy and renewable, appropriate technology resources through the book "The Complete Hydraulic Ram Manual". Written by Tom Moates. 

Construction Of A Simplified Wood Gas Generator For Fueling Internal Combustion Engines In A Petroleum Emergency:  This construction manual was prepared by my friend and colleague, Harry LaFontaine for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, assisted by F.P. Zimmerman at the Oak Ridge national Laboratory. The justification for writing this report was that in the event of a war or natural emergency, when liquid fuel supplies were interrupted, individuals could build gasifiers to run engines for transport and power. The manual was originally distributed by FEMA. This edition is the first edition by the Biomass Energy Foundation Press.  / (added 09/2005)

Cookit Foldable Family Panel:  The Foldable Family Panel is either a “solar oven” or "curved concentrator" but a happy hybrid. Its utter simplicity belies its powerful cooking power. Its low cost brings solar cooking to a much wider market of people.  It is handy for cooking food, baking breads, pasteurizing water, and teaching the basics of solar energy.

Cor Van De Waters:  do-it-yourself solar projects, energy saving tips and PV electronics design. 

Dales Alternative Energy System:  One person's approach to producing power

Dave From Iowa's Ametek 99:   with the Quadraflex AL rotor A 12volt system

David Allender:  Website recounting experiences with homestead-scale alternative energy technology (micro-hydro, small wind turbines, batteries and inverters) in England. 

Dc Distribution Panel:  To safely distribute the DC power from a battery bank, a distribution panel should be used. Keeping all connections inside the distribution panel and outside of   the battery box or house, decreases the chances of electrical failure and possible disasters. While distribution panels can be purchased at home supply stores, a reliable working panel can be made inexpensively. Materials used in construction are common and are easily assembled, and can be found for just a few dollars

Do It Yourself Automotive Lpg Conversion:  convert your car to run on propane or methane. Complete on-line text of the book.

Double-Angled-Twelve-Sided (Dats) Solar Cooker:  The “CooKit” is one of my favorite solar cookers. After reading about difficulties many people face locating heat-resistant bags, and experiencing how ordinary plastic bags melt on contact with hot cooking pots, I started to explore the possibility of a simple, low cost, easy to construct cooker that requires no plastic bag. I have designed one that I call Double-Angled-Twelve-Sided (DATS) solar cooker. It seems to do the job on clear, sunny days. DATS cooker employs 24 small reflective panels to concentrate extra sunlight to compensate for the heat loss from not using a plastic bag. DATS cooker design is similar to a deep-focus parabolic cooker, but instead of using a true parabolic curve, multiple flat panels concentrate sunlight onto the cooking pot. Two reflective surface-angles, 45º and 60º, are used so that a bend can be introduced in between for structural rigidity to hold the cooker’s shape. This structural rigidity allows for DATS cooker to be constructed out of cardboard material. 

Dual Angled Funnel Cooker:  Parvati Solar Cooker. Pictures and figures how to make a modified funnel cooker. 

Dual-Setting Panel Cooker (Dspc):  DSPC is made from a single sheet of cardboard or plastic board, measuring 4’ x 3’, with aluminum foil on one side (see DSPC plan below).  DSPC is low cost, simple and quick to construct, and it can also be mass-produced easily.

Easy Lid Cooker:  Although designs for cardboard cookers have gotten simpler, fitting a lid can still be difficult and time consuming. In this version, a lid is formed automatically from the outer box.

Eco Innovations :  Parts, kits, instructions and finished units for homebrew hydro and wind power experimenters. Big selection of pelton and turgo wheels and buckets. Sells reconditioned, rewired, and de-cogged Fisher-Paykel Smartdrive PM motors for use as wind and hydro alternators.  / (added 09/2005)

Energy Usage Worksheet:  A Worksheet to help you figure out what you energy needs are.

Experimental Wind Projects:  The small but quite powerful darrius.  Actually would fall into the category of the cycloturbine ( which is in the darrius family ).  For as small as it is, it's quite impressive.  I plan to build a much larger unit this summer, somewhere in the 1kw category. / (added 09/2005)

Fischer Technical Services Ametek 30 With The Tri-Nado Al Another One With Red Blades:   

Flux-O-Matic:   

From The Sun To The Outlet:  You can have as many panels as you want, but until you have the right electronics, the power created could be useless. The power you are creating has to be stored, or at nighttime you will have no power. For this we use batteries. Not just your everyday AA batteries though, we need what is called a deep cycle battery. Deep cycle batteries are made to be discharged, and charged back up, many many times. If you did that with a normal car battery, it would not live very long. Deep cycles are use in boats for trolling, in golf carts, and even in some forklifts. If you like to scrounge, ask around your forklift dealers, and certain manufactures they all use forklifts) for the ones they throw out. Golf courses can be good as well. 

From The Sun, To The Outlet:  You can have as many panels as you want, but until you have the right electronics, the power created could be useless. The power you are creating has to be stored, or at nighttime you will have no power. For this we use batteries. Not just your everyday AA batteries though, we need what is called a deep cycle battery. Deep cycle batteries are made to be discharged, and charged back up, many many times. If you did that with a normal car battery, it would not live very long. Deep cycles are use in boats for trolling, in golf carts, and even in some forklifts. If you like to scrounge, ask around your forklift dealers, and certain manufactures(they all use forklifts) for the ones they throw out. Golf courses can be good as well. 

Garys' Ametek Generator:   

Garys' Boss99 :  with the new Power Disc AL.

Handmade Organic Mosquito Repellent (Homer):  The Thai lemon grass in our herb garden grows nearly two inches a day -- and we found it keeps the mosquitoes away. We've also found that it's an effective herbal anti-fungal medicine (lemongrass tea) and in Puerto Rico people use the fibrous stalks as a natural toothbrush! But how can its essence be extracted and preserved without losing its magic? We use a tincture we make with Chinese brandy. It works well -- but can you find a better way?

Helix Rotary:   

Home Brew Diesel Genset:  My very first project in home brew RE was a diesel-powered genset.   Fred, a good friend of mine, convinced me that all the grid power I was consuming by heating a room full of exotic reptiles using incandescent lighting could be done for FREE using renewable energy via a diesel powered genset and a moderately sized battery bank. Fred even told me I could run the genset for free using something called biodiesel. At first, I was a little skeptical, but Fred's consistency and a little research on the web convinced me this might be an idea worth trying. / (added 09/2005)

Home Built Solar Panel Mount:  From Alternate Energy Blog:  In my first attempt, I had built six solar panels that were mounted to a framework of treated 2 X 4's constructed in a fashion that resembled a child's swing set. Each end had two legs that supported a cross piece to which three panels were attached. I wanted to be able to raise and lower the bottom edge of the panels as the sun gets higher and lower in the sky with the seasons. The idea was effective with just one itsy bitsy little problem. / (added 09/2005)

Home Made Solar Panel:  Solar/photovoltaic panels are used to change the suns energy into usable electricity. Each panel is made up of a number of solar cells, depending on the voltage you are wanting to get out of it. Each cell is creates a little more than .5 volts DC, no matter what the size. The only thing that changes with size is the amperage/current. If you take a .5 volt @ 3 amp solar cell and break it in half, you get two .5 volt @ 1.5 amp cells. Each cell has positive leads on the bottom and negative leads on top. Wire it up and you got a panel! 

Homemade Solar Panel (1):  Solar/photovoltaic panels are used to change the suns energy into usable electricity. Each

Homemade Solar Panel (2):  panel is made up of a number of solar cells, depending on the voltage you are wanting to get out of it. Each cell is creates a little more than .5 volts DC, no matter what the size. The only thing that changes with size is the amperage/current. If you take a .5 volt @ 3 amp solar cell and break it in half, you get two .5 volt @ 1.5 amp cells. Each cell has positive leads on the bottom and negative leads on top. Wire it up and you got a panel! 

How To Build A Solar Furnace:  This is the fabrication technique that has evolved out of my trials and errors. I'm sure there are many different ways to build solar panels that would work just fine.  I have tried to keep mine as simple as possible.

How To Build A Solar Hot Water System:  instructions on how to do it from a science hobby site.

How To Make A Solar Power Generator For Less Than $300 - Fearsome Homepage:   

How To Make A Solar Water Heater:   

How To Make And Use The Byu Solar Cooker/Cooler:  an online VITA technical publication.

How To Make Charcoal At Home:  The parabolic cooker involves a reflective dish that concentrates sunlight to a point where the food is cooked. This approach is very dangerous since the sun's energy is focused to a point which is very hot, but which cannot be seen. (BYU students and I built one, which will set paper on fire in about 3 seconds!) I learned that an altruistic group had offered reflecting parabolas to the people living at the Altiplano in Bolivia. But more than once the parabolas had been stored next to a shed -- and the passing sun set the sheds on fire! The people did not want these dangerous, expensive devices, even though the Altiplano region has been stripped of fuel wood.

Hydraulic Ram Page:  How to make charcoal at home -- using a 55-gallon oil drum: full instructions, with further information and links. / (added 09/2005)

Inclined Box-Type Solar Cooker – A New Design:   

Items Needed To Build A Generator:  In the proposed box type cooker beam radiation is always perpendicularly accessible for its adjustable inclined position and for convenient implementation of two reflectors the cooking time is remarkably reduced than that of a usual box type cooker. The cost of cooker is however, slightly higher than usual box type but it can be considered reasonable in respect to its improved performance. / (added 09/2005)

Jeremy Bernal's Wind Generator :  Items you need to make a homemade wind generator

Kelly Gernhart's Ametek 99 With The Quadraflex Al:  on his boat with the Tri-Nado AL

Kelseyvillecom:   

Led Lightboard:  Imagine a 3 watt light bulb that lasts practically forever. That's what the new ultra bright LEDs can do. LED lighting products are becoming available, and now you can use LEDs to develop your own lighting projects. The problem for experimenters using LEDs has been that it's difficult wiring all those little components together and making something that is neat, long-lasting, reliable and attractive. Various prototyping boards have been used, but they are far from ideal for permanent installations. Printed circuit boards would be the best answer, but most experimenters need only a few boards and labor and cost of making just a few boards is excessive. The LED Light board might just be the answer.

Linear Motion :  There are many different ways you can connect LEDs using the Lightboard. The simplest is probably to connect them in groups of four so that each group has an accompanying current limiting resistor. For each group you choose to connect, insert a resistor and four LEDs as shown below. There is space for ten groups of four LEDs on each Lightboard. / (added 09/2005)

Low-Tech Crystal Radio:   

Magnetic Repulsion Engine :  Listen to AM radio on a crystal radio set you can build yourself for only a few dollars. Crystal radios don't need a power supply -- they're powered by the radio waves they receive!  Crystal radios were discovered in 1901 and are still the basis for most modern-day radio apparatus. For this reason, a study of crystal sets is a great place to start to build a foundation in radio electronics.

Magnetic Shape Memory Motor :   

Make A Pinwheel:   

Make A Wind Direction Indicator:  Everyone can make a pinwheel by following a few simple steps and using ordinary classroom materials. Remember, the more colorful, the more fun!

Make A Wind Vane:  Basically a simplified windsock, this indicator will very quickly has your students measuring the wind's direction. / (added 09/2005)

Make An Anemometer:  Commonly called a "weather vane," the wind vane indicates wind direction.

Make Your Own Biodiesel:  Kids may find "anemometer" difficult to say, but they'll find an anemometer easy to make by following the instructions for this simple Dixie cup model.

Make Your Own Windmeter :  Anybody can make biodiesel. It's easy, you can make it in your kitchen -- and it's BETTER than the petro-diesel fuel the big oil companies sell you. Your diesel motor will run better and last longer on your homemade fuel, and it's much cleaner -- better for the environment and better for health. If you make it from used cooking oil it is not only cheap but you'll be recycling a troublesome waste product. Best of all is the GREAT feeling of freedom, independence and empowerment it will give you. Here's how to do it -- everything you need to know. / (added 09/2005)

Making A Simple SavoniUS Turbine - Renew Magazine:  Free details on building a solar-powered logging anemometer with data retrievable by laptop computer. Detailed construction photos, parts lists, and instructions.  / (added 09/2005)

Making A Sundial For The Northern Hemisphere:   

Making A Vane:  Learn how to make a portable, inexpensive sundial of your own. Wear it as a necklace or make a keychain!

Making And Using A Solar Cooker :  Novice, Intermediate, and Expert instructions are provided. 

Making Barsoap From Glycerin:   

Making Your Own Charcoal:  It was during those days that I saw my first solar cooker and began the hobby that led to the cooker described in this article. I started out building the most efficient styles I could come up with. Later, while keeping this efficiency, I strove to simplify the building process, the materials needed, and the actual use of the cooker. The cooker is now basically cardboard, aluminum foil, and glass. Yet, because of the design, it is remarkably efficient and durable.  / (added 09/2005)

Making Your Own Fuel:  A byproduct from making bio-diesel is glycerin. In a process called transesterification, waste vegetable oil (WVO) is broken down into esters (bio-diesel) and glycerin. This glycerin can be filtered to remove any food particles or impurities, and used as an industrial degreaser in it’s raw form, composted and used as a fertilizer, or made into bar soap. Bar soap made from your glycerin byproduct is excellent for use in the shop because of its degreasing abilities, but can also be used as a household soap for everyday use. Adding fragrances and dyes will make household use more appealing to other members of the household.

Meet The Minato Wheel :  Making your own charcoal -- simple step-by-step instructions with diagrams using an oil drum.

Micro Hydro:  alcohol, hydrogen gas, and methane.

Mike Pelly's Recipe:   

Mike Pelly's Recipe For Biofuels:   

Minimum Solar Box Cooker :  Mike Pelly lives in the US North West. "I live for renewable energy projects," he says. Mike's been making his own biodiesel fuel from waste cooking oil for the last five years, using it in several different cars. He finds it "far superior" to fossil-based diesel fuel.

Nelpa Solar Panel Cooker:  Mike Pelly lives in the US North West. "I live for renewable energy projects," he says. Mike's been making his own biodiesel fuel from waste cooking oil for the last five years, using it in several different cars. He finds it "far superior" to fossil-based diesel fuel.

Off-Grid Secluded House :  A great solar oven you can build quickly from two cardboard boxes

Paradise Water Jet :  In the last issue of the Solar Cooker Review, Barbara Knudson was quoted as saying, "Solar Cookers are more apt to be adopted when people are desperate, but do we have to wait until the whole world is desperate before we adopt this?" This important question calls for another one: What could we do to make solar cookers more convenient without making them too much more complicated? The Nelpa solar panel cooker presented here grew out of an attempt to answer these questions. / (added 09/2005)

Parvati Solar Cooker (Twelve Sided) :  An off-grid secluded house FOR SALE about 20 miles east of Arlington, Washington

Pedal Powered Generator:  on a plateau overlooking the Stillaguamish River and mountains

Pentagon Star Cooker:  does small run CNC abrasive water cutting work. We use them for cutting steel discs and plastic discs for some of our prototypes. They have a low $50 minimum and their machine cuts arbitrary shapes out of steel or plastic to an accuracy of 0.005". 

Perendev Motor :  This is Modified Dual angled Funnel Cooker made in 12 sections. This is similar to DATS design of Teong H. Tan.There is one minor difference between design of these two cookers. Apperture size of Teong H. Tan's cooker is 36 inches while that of Parvaticooker is 24 inches and ratio of length of sides. Solar ray reflection of both the cookers is shown in Fig A and B. We have not done comparative study between these two designs so far. 

Pete From Michigan Ametek 50 Generator :   

Phillips' Ametek 40 Generator:  This is a great cooker. Out side the tropics a straight panel cooker battles on all but the best days and this cooker takes advantage of lower sun angles in morning and afternoon. Being more efficient it makes up for the odd cloud in the day. It is stable in wind and if put together with paper fasteners can fold down flat for storage. Adjusting the side flaps up or down makes seasonal changes. / (added 09/2005)

Picoturbine:   

Portable Power:  with the Tri-Nado AL

Positioning Your Solar Panels:   

Protecting You Wind Turbine From Excessive Wind Speeds:  A great energy project! PicoTurbine is a miniature, 8" (20 cm) high, wind-driven power generator, producing electricity from a direct-drive, single-phase, brushless, permanent magnet alternator.

Putting Together A Solar System:  One great advantage of renewable energy is that it is available in times of need, or as a supplement or replacement to commercially available power. John has taken renewable energy one step further, and designed a system which provides portable power in times of disaster or unexpected circumstances, and is easily moved from one location to another.  South Florida, a haven for unexpected storms and hurricanes, is one area where a system like John's can be very beneficial. / (added 09/2005)

Pv Power System:  Get the most of your panels by pointing it in the right direction

Pv Starter System:   

Reflective Open Box Solar Cooker:  A basic, no knowledge assumed, and set of instructions that builds up from an easy system to a more and more complex one.

Rv Camping With Solar Power:   

Sailing Pv Style:  This article traces the evolution of Fred's first RE system.  His basic starting system began with a photovoltaic module, charge controller, battery, DC voltmeter, and inverter.  It is essentially a self-sustaining renewable energy system that has been running for years. The best part is you don't get a bill in the mail every month!

Satelite Dish To Solar Tracker Conversion:  Roger Bernard offers a new compact reflective cooker design.

School Composting:  Located in Delaware, United States

School Gardens:  In the beginning there was light, and it was good. It remained good until the end of the twentieth century, then it became better. Photovoltaic technology is here. Increasing utility costs necessitate the need to ponder, if not seriously entertain, the prospect of renewable energy sources. Many individuals have undertaken the pioneering of the RE frontier. This is a story about one of them.

Self Powered Solar Box Furnace:  I'm one of those people who like to build moving objects. Something motorized! If you are one of "those" guys, or just want to get some more power out of your panels for cheap, then this is for you. Satellite dishes are one of the easiest things to scrounge. Most people are more than happy to let you take them away, but sometime you have to take the concrete base as well, which really isn't that fun. ;)  / (added 09/2005)

Shelter Kit:  Gardening and composting go hand-in-hand, especially in school garden projects: gardening without composting only teaches half the lesson. 

Shunt Braking:  Composting concerns the invisible half of the Wheel of Life, Nature's cycle of growth and decay. This is the vital part that happens underground, where wastes decay to give rise to new life. Composting helps to bring the regenerative capabilities of the soil to a high peak of natural efficiency, ensuring a bountiful, beautiful and healthy garden.  / (added 09/2005)

Silkworms In A Shoebox:  School gardening projects fit easily into the curriculum and enhance studies in a wide range of subjects, but they also have a special value all their own. Some schools have always had gardens, but gardens for teaching have a more recent history.  A small visitor to our garden -- he was fascinated with the pots of green pepper plants (Midori Hiraga) Over the last 30 years many thousands of schools have incorporated gardening into the curriculum. With the growing experience of school gardening has come a great deal of evidence of the multiple benefits to be gained.

Small Scale Biodiesel Production:   

Solar Chimney Dehydrator:  Pre-cut, pre-drilled houses and barns / (added 09/2005)

Solar Pool Heating:   

Solar Space Heating:  Rearing silkworms in the classroom or at home.  There are about a million known species of insects, and entomologists estimate that many millions more have not yet been identified, but of all these species, only one has been domesticated by man: Bombyx mori, the silk moth.

Solar Technology For The Home:  Making biodiesel from waste vegetable oil (WVO) is accomplished by a procedure called transesterification. The procedure requires the proper amounts of methanol (CH3OH) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) commonly known as lye or caustic soda, combined to form a mixture known as sodium methoxide (Na+ CH3O-). The sodium methoxide, when mixed with WVO causes a chemical reaction, which breaks the WVO into glycerin and esters or biodiesel.

Solar Tracker From An Old Satelite Dish:  A Solar chimney dehydrator can be constructed with any number of designs, adjusted to meet whatever needs you have. Following, is a basic design used at the Crofford Demonstration Farm in Woodruff, AZ. 

Solar Water Heater & Pasteurizer Made From Everyday Recyclables:  Nestled in a quiet suburb of southwest Florida, sits a renewable energy diamond.  This year, Jim and Kay decided to heat their pool using renewable energy because of rising utility costs.  If you have ever considered solar pool heating, read on.

Solar Water Heating:   

Spectrum Dynamics:   

Straight Vegetable Oil As Diesel Fuel:  I'm one of those people who like to build moving objects. Something motorized! If you are one of "those" guys, or just want to get some more power out of your panels for cheap, then this is for you. Satellite dishes are one of the easiest things to scrounge. Most people are more than happy to let you take them away, but sometime you have to take the concrete base as well, which really isn’t that fun. ;)  / (added 09/2005)

Straw Coffin:  MATERIALS: 1 or 2 liter clear plastic soda bottle; 12 oz. aluminum soda can; Piece of corrugated cardboard 1/4" x 24" x 32"; Aluminum foil or reflective plastic from inside chip bags, etc.. 

Sunpan:   

Temperature Sensor For Trace & Xantrex Solar Charge Controllers:  Alternative energy cost comparisons and resource center, includes solar, wind and other renewables. 

Tesla Free Electricity:  There's a choice to make for running diesels on biofuels:  make biodiesel and just use it, no need to modify the engine, or buy a ready-made conversion system for your vehicle or build your own so you can run it on straight vegetable oil (SVO) -- no need to process the fuel, just put it in and go

The Barbara Kerr Solar Wall Oven Do-It-Yourself Guidelines:  This coffin is made from 99% straw, no wood*. The straw coffin is made from a linerboard covered straw core; an annually renewable, naturally biodegradable fiber from the natural biomass. This Basic Straw Coffin has no frills. The hardware can be removed at the final destination. 

The Beach House Fish Pond:  The "SunPan" was specifically designed to be built in any country with local materials and hand tools, a hometown solar cooker.  This solar cooker can be mass-produced. 

The Bernard Solar Panel Cooker:  From the Alternate Energy Blog:  The Xantex/Trace C-series charge controllers are some of the finest controllers on the market. Charge controllers are essential in solar and wind energy systems that charge lead acid batteries. The controller's role is to charge the batteries at their optimum rate and to keep them from over charging. / (added 09/2005)

The Complete Hydraulic Ram Manual:  Build a Free-energy machine from simple plans using Tesla technology

The Cookit Foldable Family Panel:   

The Dual-Setting Panel Cooker (Dspc):  Garden ponds can be really beautiful, adding a sense of peace to a garden like nothing else can do. Others can provide you with a lot of food

The Easy Lid Cooker:  A simple, portable model that may open new horizons

The Foolproof Way To Make Biodiesel:  Site promotes alternative energy and renewable, appropriate technology resources through the book "The Complete Hydraulic Ram Manual". Written by Tom Moates. 

The Inclined Box-Type Solar Cooker – A New Design:  The Foldable Family Panel is neither a “solar oven” nor "curved concentrator" but a happy hybrid. Its utter simplicity belies its powerful cooking power. Its low cost brings solar cooking to a much wider market of people.  It is handy for cooking food, baking breads, pasteurizing water, and teaching the basics of solar energy.

The Minimum Solar Box Cooker :  DSPC is made from a single sheet of cardboard or plastic board, measuring 4’ x 3’, with aluminum foil on one side (see DSPC plan below).  DSPC is low cost, simple and quick to construct, and it can also be mass-produced easily.

The Nelpa Solar Panel Cooker:  Although designs for cardboard cookers have gotten simpler, fitting a lid can still be difficult and time consuming. In this version, a lid is formed automatically from the outer box.

The Pentagon Star Cooker:  The Foolproof Method has been used to make many thousands of gallons of high-quality biodiesel from all sorts of feedstock. Many individual biofuelers have adopted it as their standard method.

The Reflective Open Box Solar Cooker:  In the proposed box type cooker beam radiation is always perpendicularly accessible for its adjustable inclined position and for convenient implementation of two reflectors the cooking time is remarkably reduced than that of a usual box type cooker. The cost of cooker is however, slightly higher than usual box type but it can be considered reasonable in respect to its improved performance. / (added 09/2005)

The Straw Coffin:  A great solar oven you can build quickly from two cardboard boxes

The Tire Cooker:  In the last issue of the Solar Cooker Review, Barbara Knudson was quoted as saying, "Solar Cookers are more apt to be adopted when people are desperate, but do we have to wait until the whole world is desperate before we adopt this?" This important question calls for another one: What could we do to make solar cookers more convenient without making them too much more complicated? The Nelpa solar panel cooker presented here grew out of an attempt to answer these questions.

The Tracking Solar Cooker:  This is a great cooker. Out side the tropics a straight panel cooker battles on all but the best days and this cooker takes advantage of lower sun angles in morning and afternoon. Being more efficient it makes up for the odd cloud in the day. It is stable in wind and if put together with paper fasteners can fold down flat for storage. Adjusting the side flaps up or down makes seasonal changes. / (added 09/2005)

The Two-Stage Adaptation Of Mike Pelly’s Biodiesel Recipe :  Roger Bernard offers a new compact reflective cooker design.

Tim Nolans Peak Power Tracking Project:  This coffin is made from 99% straw, no wood*. The straw coffin is made from a linerboard covered straw core; an annually renewable, naturally biodegradable fiber from the natural biomass. This Basic Straw Coffin has no frills. The hardware can be removed at the final destination. 

Tire Cooker:  Suresh Vaidyarajan - an architect, who has found a simple solution for a tough problem, has designed this solar cooker. For the last one year he has been cooking his food in this solar cooker.  / (added 09/2005)

Tlg Windpower's Remote Electric Fence Battery Maintainer System:    / (added 09/2005)

Toiletology 101 Care And Repair:  For some time now a growing group of people have been trying and succeeding to make diesel fuel out of used cooking oil (waste vegetable oil, WVO) by themselves. There are many magnificent articles on this subject on the Internet that can teach you how to get started.

Tracking Solar Cooker:   

Triangle Gate Experiment :  Suresh Vaidyarajan - an architect, who has found a simple solution for a tough problem, has designed this solar cooker. For the last one year he has been cooking his food in this solar cooker.  / (added 09/2005)

Tri-Nado Extreme Flying In Canada:   

Tutorial On Off Grid And Renewable Energy:  Let's plunge in; flush out the facts and plumb the depths of toilet repairs.

Understanding Generators:   

US Carburetion Inc:   

Use This Single-Stage Base Transesterification Method For Making Biodiesel:   

Veggie Power:  a quick overview of the basics.

Waste Digester Design:   

Waterproofing Your Generator:  Low cost do-it-yourself generator conversion kits from gasoline to propane and natural gas. 

Watts / Amps Conversion Chart:  Make your first test-batch using new oil (fresh, virgin, uncooked). Follow the instructions below, but use 1 litre of oil instead of 10 litres, and 200 ml of methanol instead of 2 litres, with 3.5 grams of lye.

Windshield Shade Solar Funnel Cooker:  all you need to know about making biodiesel.

Winiarcki Rocket Stove:  Teaches a student about biogas production through the design of a simple anaerobic digester and gas collection system. (Developed by the University of Florida, Civil Engineering Laboratory) / (added 09/2005)

Wire Size Chart:   

Wiring Diagrams:  Volts, Amps, Ohms, and Watts Conversion table / (added 09/2005)

Wooden Blades:  While experimenting with various designs of cookers over the past year to introduce in the indigenous communities where I live and work in southern Mexico, I hit upon an utterly simple way to make an instant portable solar oven.  Taking a reflective accordion-folded car windshield shade, you can turn it into a version of the solar funnel, by simply sewing on little Velcro tabs along the long notched side.